Links
|
I am going to list a home with blue carpet everywhere. I sold the house a
few years ago to the people who will be selling it. When I first sold them
the house, the listing agent said she had a few problems selling the house
because of the blue carpet.
Have any of you out there seen a general
adverse reaction from buyers to the color of blue, especially in
wall-to-wall carpet? The seller is trying to decide whether to re-carpet or
not. It's a big house and will be expensive. They want to get top dollar
for the house.
Thank you one and all |
|
Comments (3) :: Post A Comment!
|
Blue Carpet Everywhere - Jun. 30, 2006 |
| Posted by Administrator |
I had a listing within the last two years or so that had blue carpeting
throughout the house. To make the house show as well as it possibly could,
we moved the chaos of the sellers, their two children, three big dogs and
two businesses OUT of the house while it was on the market. We left behind
their good furniture and enough accessories to stage it as a warm,
comfortable home. Within one week of placing it on the market, we had a
3-way bidding war, and it was under contract for over the asking price
within 7 days. The carpet was never mentioned once throughout the
negotiations, although several brokers who had previewed the house before it
was on the market said it could not be sold unless the carpeting was
replaced.
I believe these factors were important in that sale:
1. The house was staged very well. It was "vacant" but buyers were not
looking at empty rooms with nothing but blue carpeting to look at.
2. The carpeting was 10 years old; buyers were looking at it as needing to
be replaced soon anyway. They probably would not have wanted to pay for
brand new carpeting they hated. I do not think the family who bought the
house replaced the carpet right away, though.
3. The property did have some features that could not be replaced: it was
on the closed end of a long cul-de-sac, and the lot was 3-4 times the size
of the average lot in that neighborhood. In an area notorious for its small
lots, that was a big selling point. Buyers were not willing to lose that
over something as replaceable as carpeting--especially when buyers were
literally lining up.
4. The color of the carpeting was a deep navy, so it visually disappeared
when complementary-colored furniture was installed. A royal, peacock or
teal blue would have visually "popped" and would have been very difficult to
work with. Buyers would be concerned that a light blue would, like white,
show dirt easily.
In the end, the carpeting in that house did not turn out to be the problem
most people thought it would be. Lessons learned: stage WELL and
accentuate the positive. (If all else fails, you could buy all the
neighboring properties, tear down the houses and replat the lots into your
lot so that you end up with an extra-large lot. Something to think about;
hope it helps!) ;)
Good luck with your listing. Let us know how it turns out.
Randall
|
| Permanent Link |
re: Blue Carpet Everywhere - Jun. 30, 2006 |
| Posted by Administrator |
If they want top dollar, they have to provide top appeal. They =
probably think they got a deal a few years ago, and assume they should =
again, this time as a seller. They really can\'t have it both ways. =
It\'s like owning a home that backs to the Amtrak Northeast Corridor Line =
- you got a home for "below market" (not really, because that was the =
market value of that property), but you\'re going to have to sell it for =
the same kind of price - "below market" - unless they tear up the train =
tracks.
They can change the carpet or change their plans about top dollar.
|
| Permanent Link |
Blue Carpet Everywhere - Jun. 30, 2006 |
| Posted by Administrator |
Too, too funny. I just listed a town home yesterday with blue carpet
throughout, all three floors. I cringed when the owner opened the door
when I met him at the house yesterday. The house is vacant so the
carpet WILL be steamed cleaned. But, it is still blue, throughout,
all three levels.
Lenn Harley |
| Permanent Link |
|
RSS Blog Feed